Archive for January, 2015

Yesterday night, around the time of the 20:00 news, an armed gunman went into the NOS studios demanding air time. The young man, identified as Tarik Z, entered the offices with a weapon. He said he was sent to give an important message that concerned the people. Although he was armed, Tarik didn’t hurt anyone,…

Today was for me the winter morning I have been waiting for since I moved to the Netherlands. I woke up early hoping the weather predictions were finally true, and that today I would finally enjoy a snowy day. To my amazement, our garden was a winter wonderland….white with snow! My first instinct was to…

Pinnen (paying by debit/credit card) is very widespread in the Netherlands. There is even a verb for it! Pinnen comes from the word pinpas, which means debit card. This kind of payment got the honor of a verb of its own because it is used so much in the country. In many countries, there is an extra charge…

On Sunday, the 18th of January was the official day to elect the Prins van Carnaval (Prince of Carnival – Mardi Gras in Europe, which is also called vastelaovond in the Dutch province Limburg). This person symbolically reigns over the city during the days of Carnival, which is this year from Saturday, February 14 until Wednesday, February 18.…

Something I’ve struggled with in Dutch is distinguishing when a noun (person, place thing) uses de or het. I remember going over that while I was still living in Mexico, and although I know some of the rules, I cannot say I really KNOW them. Perhaps some of you already have this de or het dilemma out of the way, but…